UK beer imports 1895 - 1897

As we've been looking at beer exports, we may as well look at imports, too.

There are a couple of things to be careful about. First, it's packages rather than a volume. Secondly, just because the beer was dispatched from a port in Belgium or Holland, it doesn't necessarily mean that the beer was brewed there. Much likely came from somewhere else, most likely Germany.

Though the beer shipped from Copenhagen probably did come from Denmark. And I think it's safe to assume anything coming from New York had been brewed in the USA. I'm shocked to see that any beer at all was imported from the US. The stuff coming from Copenhagen was probably mostly Carlsberg and Tuborg.

The beer itself was probably almost all Lager. That was about all that was imported into the UK. Top-fermenting styles were provided by domestic breweries.

Note that more than half of the imports came in via London. Not really surprising: London waws a massive port and much closer to the Continent than Liverpool, Dublin or Glasgow. I'd guess that the same was also true for exports. Though maybe not to quite the same extent.

Total importations of beer into the United Kingdom:—
From	London	Liverpool	Hull	Harwich	O.E Ports	Dublin.	Clyde &c.	Total
	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.	pkgs.
Hamburg	7,885	3,977	2,215	700	1,604	457	908	17,746
Bremen	20,827	1,075	1,351	-	-	-	3,525	27,078
Rotterdam	18,593	171	4,129	11,183	725	9,098	1,831	45,730
Antwerp	4,574	732	18	4,576	672	-	3	10,575
Amsterdam	14,718	282	5,655	-	2,754	-	3,064	26,473
Copenhagen	1,882	105	2,033	-	-	-	5,275	9,296
Christiania	154	-	618	-	14	-	66	852
New York	100	46	-	-	-	-	50	195
Ostend	4,934	-	-	-	-	-	-	4,934
Totals,1897	73,667	6,388	16,019	16,459	5,769	9,555	15,022	142,879
Do. 1896	53,257	10,179	13,468	14,026	4,997	8,250	14,655	129,442
Do. 1895.	55,429	11,868	11,775	17,082	4,079	8,282	14,130	122,645
Source:
"The Brewers' Journal, 1898", page 64.

Here are the numbers in bulk barrels:

UK beer imports 1895 - 1897 (bulk barrels)
1895	1896	1897
44,399	45,000	45,752
Source:
Dundee Evening Post - Monday 01 April 1901, page 2.

As 1 package seems to equate to about a third of a barrel, here's are the bulk barrels for each point of origin:

From	bulk barrels
Hamburg	5915.33
Bremen	9,026
Rotterdam	15,243.33
Antwerp	3,525
Amsterdam	8,824.33
Copenhagen	3,098.67
Christiania	284
New York	65
Ostend	1,644.67

It's not a huge amount of beer.

UK beer exports in 1897 (part two)

More table fun. Except this time I've derived my own new set of numbers. Cool, eh?

One thing is immediately clear: the biggest export market for Scottish brewers was the West Indies. I wonder why that was? I know that they did a big trade in strong Scotch Ale there. The high average price per barrel of those exports tends to confirm that.

Though overall, English exports were higher in price. Is that because English exports were mostly either Pale Ale or Stout, two expensive styles?

I'm truly shocked at how big a proportion of the beer sent to East India were from Scotland. That's certainly a change from a couple of decades earlier, when Burton and London provided most. In the form of Pale Ale and Porter. I wonder what the scots were sending? Maybe it was already Lager.

I think I've worked out the Irish conundrum. It's probably to do with how the statistics were collected. My guess is they did it at the port where the beer left the UK. Any Guinness that was shipped to Liverpool and then dispatched to wherever would be counted in the English numbers.

The same could be true of Scotland. Beer shipped from Leith to London and then sent on.

UK beer exports in 1897
	England		Scotland
Countries to which exported	average value	%	average value	%
Russia	3.69	95.94%	3.00	0.16%
Sweden	4.85	85.86%	2.79	14.14%
Norway	3.07	100.00%
Denmark	3.32	97.24%	3.50	2.76%
Germany	3.27	98.48%	3.94	1.23%
Holland	3.09	93.18%	3.14	6.70%
Belgium	3.02	92.20%	3.26	7.36%
Channel Islands	2.25	100.00%
France	2.91	100.00%
Portugal, Azores, and Madeira	3.23	98.42%	4.67	1.58%
Spain and Canaries	3.56	87.40%	4.47	12.60%
Gibraltar	3.09	99.86%	3.07	0.14%
Italy	3.93	91.50%	4.23	8.50%
Austrian Territories	5.00	100.00%
Malta	3.22	72.88%	3.16	27.12%
Greece	5.33	100.00%
Bulgaria	4.00	100.00%
Turkey, European	3.40	100.00%
Turkey, Asiatic	3.69	100.00%
Egypt	2.68	97.88%	4.30	2.12%
Tripoli and Tunis	2.98	100.00%
Algeria	4.50	100.00%
Morocco	3.28	100.00%
Spanish Ports in North Africa	3.00	100.00%
West. Africa, Foreign	3.56	100.00%
Western Africa, British	3.51	100.00%
Ascension & St. Helena	3.06	100.00%
British Possessions in South Africa	3.66	80.40%	3.77	19.60%
Eastern Africa, Foreign	4.90	79.69%	4.84	20.16%
Eastern Africa, British	5.30	100.00%
Abyssinia	4.50	100.00%
Madagascar	3.77	75.84%	4.49	24.16%
Bourbon	3.56	27.17%	4.51	72.83%
Mauritius	3.05	56.86%	2.85	43.14%
Aden	3.21	100.00%
Persia	3.43	100.00%
British East Indies
Continental Territories	3.21	27.13%	2.60	72.87%
Straits Settlements	4.17	45.94%	2.92	54.06%
Ceylon	2.85	83.66%	4.64	16.34%
lndia: Dutch Possessions
Java	4.28	99.07%	9.00	0.93%
Other Possessions	3.50	100.00%
Spanish Possessions
Philippine Islands	4.55	96.40%	4.78	3.60%
British Possessions:
Borneo		0.00%	4.25	100.00%
Labuan	6.67	100.00%
Siam	3.56	12.86%	4.75	87.14%
French Indo-China	6.54	68.42%	4.17	31.58%
China	3.74	91.37%	4.48	8.63%
Hong Kong	2.84	64.83%	2.68	35.17%
Japan	3.89	100.00%		0.00%
Australasia:
West Australia	3.94	81.19%	3.61	18.81%
South Australia	4.36	68.89%	5.04	31.11%
Victoria	4.13	64.09%	4.32	35.91%
New South Wales	3.79	64.98%	5.25	22.17%
Queensland	4.52	79.88%	3.24	20.12%
Tasmania	5.19	96.25%	2.41	3.75%
New Zealand	5.39	98.88%	3.56	1.12%
Fiji Islands	3.30	100.00%		0.00%
Islands in the Pacific	3.52	100.00%		0.00%
British North America	4.54	85.34%	2.88	14.66%
U. States of America	4.27	87.86%	6.80	1.45%
Bermudas	2.68	37.27%	3.23	62.73%
British W. Ind. Islands	3.90	20.68%	4.10	79.32%
Spenish W. Ind. Islands	3.23	85.28%	4.57	14.72%
French W. Ind. Islands	4.93	100.00%		0.00%
Dutch W. Ind. Islands	3.81	100.00%		0.00%
Danish W. Ind. Islands	4.69	43.48%	5.29	56.52%
British Honduras	3.83	70.65%	5.12	29.35%
British Guiana	3.88	12.67%	3.91	87.33%
Dutch Guiana	3.77	100.00%		0.00%
Hayti and S. Domingo	9.20	21.88%	4.57	78.13%
Mexico	3.93	89.87%	4.46	10.13%
Central America	4.69	96.43%	3.67	3.57%
Republic of Colombia	3.27	83.53%	4.49	16.47%
Venezuela	3.54	61.78%	4.60	38.22%
Ecuador	4.50	80.00%	7.00	20.00%
Peru	4.17	100.00%		0.00%
Chili	3.76	79.17%	4.03	20.83%
Brazil	3.52	99.19%	6.89	0.81%
Uruguay	4.10	88.12%	4.83	11.88%
Argentine Republic	4.08	99.59%	4.40	0.41%
Falkland Islands	3.34	100.00%		0.00%
Average	3.48	69.37%	3.17	29.87%
Source:
The Brewers' Journal, 1898, page 391.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1948 Lees Bitter

After all of those watery Milds here's something a little beefier. But only a little.  I wouldn't want you to go crazy or anything.

This iteration of Lees Bitter is notable for being very unremarkable. If you get what I mean.

If you’ve been paying attention, you might have noticed the lack of crystal malt in many Bitters, as is the case here. It’s surprisingly recently that it became a standard element of Pale Ale grists.

Black malt is slightly unusual in a Bitter. The quantity is so small it’s clearly just to add a little colour. The No.2 invert in the recipe is my substitution for invert and CWA.

As the hops were all English, I’ve guessed Fuggles and Goldings. The chances are they were that, or something similar.

An underlet raised the mashing temperature to 149º F.

1948 Lees Bitter
pale malt	7.00 lb	86.63%
black malt	0.08 lb	0.99%
enzymic malt	0.125 lb	1.55%
glucose	0.125 lb	1.55%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.75 lb	9.28%
Fuggles 105 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1038
FG	1010
ABV	3.70
Apparent attenuation	73.68%
IBU	26
SRM	8
Mash at	147º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)

UK beer exports in 1897

Just a huge table today.

OK, a couple of quick points.

I was surprised to see only columns for England and Scotland, not Ireland. Then I spotted the note at the end of the table. Ireland isn't included because it exported bugger all beer. At least outside the UK. It shipped a shedload to England and Scotland. Fewer than 4,000 barrels in total. I thought that they brewed quite a bit more FES than than that.

Just checked the numbers I have for Guinness sales, grouped by Ireland, England and other. According to that, in 1897 Guinness sold FES 66,335 barrels, Export Stout  4,715, making a total total 71,050. ("A Bottle of Guinness please" by David Hughes, pages 276-279). Or a load more than in the official export figures. I'm pretty sure FES wasn't sold in the UK.

With just over 100,000, Australia was by far the most important single destination. Though, given their small populations, Gibraltar and Malt score very highly. I assume the vast majority was for the British military.

More analysis next time.

BEER EXPORTED FROM OCTOBER 1, 1896 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1897:
	From England		From Scotland		From the UK
Countries to which exported	Quantity	Declared Value	Quantity	Declared Value	Quantity	Declared Value
	Brls.	£	Brls.	£	Brls.	£
Russia	1,230	4,534	2	6	1,282	4,540
Sweden	85	412	14	39	99	451
Norway	72	221	-	-	72	221
Denmark	423	1,403	12	42	435	1,445
Germany	12,650	41,324	158	623	12,845	42,031
Holland	3,855	11,908	277	869	4,137	12,790
Belgium	23,213	70,138	1,854	6,050	25,177	76,188
Channel Islands	18,150	40,841	-	-	18,150	40,841
France	6,951	20,242	-	-	6,951	20,242
Portugal, Azores, and Madeira	374	1,209	6	28	380	1,237
Spain and Canaries	1,068	3,807	154	688	1,222	4,495
Gibraltar	20,139	62,168	28	86	20,167	62,254
Italy	140	550	13	55	153	605
Austrian Territories	1	5	-	-	1	5
Malta	22,886	73,649	8,515	26,907	31,401	100,556
Greece	18	96	-	-	18	96
Bulgaria	1	4	-	-	1	4
Turkey, European	162	550	-	-	162	556
Turkey, Asiatic	589	2,173	-	-	589	2,173
Egypt	17,485	46,942	379	1,629	17,864	48,571
Tripoli and Tunis	60	179	-	-	60	179
Algeria	6	27	-	-	6	27
Morocco	36	118	-	-	36	118
Spanish Ports in North Africa	2	6	-	-	2	6
West. Africa, Foreign	200	712	-	-	200	712
Western Africa, British	1,527	5,361	-	-	1,527	5,361
Ascension & St. Helena	1,401	4,290	-	-	1,401	4,290
British Possessions in South Africa	19,021	69,557	4,638	17,468	23,659	87,025
Eastern Africa, Foreign	1,601	7,843	405	1,960	2,009	9,803
Eastern Africa, British	309	1,638	-	-	309	1,638
Abyssinia	2	9	-	-	2	9
Madagascar	135	509	43	193	178	702
Bourbon	25	89	67	302	92	391
Mauritius	1,973	6,013	1,497	4,260	3,470	10,273
Aden	3,702	11,876	-	-	3,702	11,876
Persia	14	48	-	-	14	48
British East Indies
Continental Territories	22,833	73,401	61,343	159,349	84,176	232,750
Straits Settlements	3,320	13,833	3,907	11,392	7,227	25,225
Ceylon	5,355	15,270	1,046	4,850	6,401	20,120
lndia: Dutch Possessions
Java	212	908	2	18	214	926
Other Possessions	6	21	-	-	6	21
Spanish Possessions
Philippine Islands	241	1,096	9	43	250	1,139
British Possessions:
Borneo	-	-	8	34	8	34
Labuan	3	20	-	-	3	20
Siam	9	32	61	290	70	322
French Indo-China	13	85	6	25	19	110
China	1,356	5,070	128	573	1,484	5,643
Hong Kong	4,983	14,175	2,703	7,249	7,686	21,424
Japan	175	680	-	-	175	680
Australasia:
West Australia	19,135	75,316	4,434	15,989	23,569	91,305
South Australia	3,474	15,141	1,569	7,905	5,043	23,046
Victoria	9,750	40,316	5,462	23,598	15,212	63,914
New South Wales	30,130	114,078	10,281	53,958	46,370	168,010
Queensland	7,946	35,920	2,001	6,491	9,947	42,411
Tasmania	564	2,928	22	53	586	2,981
New Zealand	5,019	27,053	57	203	5,076	27,256
Fiji Islands	44	145	-	-	44	145
Islands in the Pacific	82	289	-	-	82	289
British North America	3,120	14,169	536	1,541	3,656	15,710
U. States of America	29,029	123,950	478	3,250	33,040	153,990
Bermudas	2,808	7,515	4,726	15,272	7,534	22,787
British W. Ind. Islands	3,247	12,649	12,455	51,017	15,702	63,666
Spenish W. Ind. Islands	3,593	11,621	620	2,832	4,213	14,453
French W. Ind. Islands	91	449	-	-	91	449
Dutch W. Ind. Islands	75	286	-	-	75	286
Danish W. Ind. Islands	70	328	91	481	161	809
British Honduras	207	792	86	440	293	1,232
British Guiana	494	1,915	3,405	13,302	3,899	15,217
Dutch Guiana	157	592	-	-	157	592
Hayti and S. Domingo	98	902	350	1,599	448	1,961
Mexico	213	838	24	107	237	945
Central America	162	760	6	22	168	782
Republic of Colombia	1,258	4,114	248	1,114	1,506	5,228
Venezuela	236	835	146	671	382	1,506
Ecuador	16	72	4	28	20	100
Peru	370	1,544	-	-	370	1,544
Chili	361	1,357	95	383	456	1,740
Brazil	4,310	15,169	35	241	4,345	15,410
Uruguay	89	365	12	58	101	423
Argentine Republic	1,207	4,924	5	22	1,212	4,946
Falkland Islands	557	1,860	-	-	557	1,860
Total	326,052	1,133,783	140,373	445,605	470,000	1,606,275
Included in the above total for the United Kingdom are the exports
from Ireland, comprising 42 barrels exported to Germany and Holland,
valued at £97, and 3,633 barrels for the United States, valued at £26,790.
Source:
The Brewers' Journal, 1898, page 391.